The 9 months of pregnancy come along with all sorts of difficult changes to the body. Not only are there many hormonal and emotional changes, but there are enormous physical changes. Pregnancy is tough. RockTape is tougher. RockTape has created many different taping standards and protocols with the goal of easing the pain and stress on the pregnant body. Swollen feet? RockTape can help. How about a sore and fatigued back from all the extra weight? RockTape can help. Sciatica? Plantar Fasciitis? Rib Pain? RockTape can help. Physical Support Options for Pregnancy: RockTape I was “lucky” to be pregnant through the summer months. I hit the second trimester as the temps were escalating in our lovely beach town and began to feel the stretching and pulling of my belly as those temperatures kept going up, up, and up! I was not interested in one more layer of clothing and needed something while I was upright rather than all the lovely pillows that are available to support your belly as you sleep. Enter RockTape. As a chiropractor, I found out about this from a fellow doctor who posted pics on Facebook showing how it was helping one of his patients a couple years prior. He was actually using it on a bruise on an athlete, a gentleman who did strongman feats. The results I saw prompted me to look into this specific company. I had heard of kinesiotape before, as well as sports taping during a semester of athletic training in high school. This product, in my opinion, goes above and beyond! https://www.instagram.com/p/BJg0NYCh6VL/ First of all, let me explain these...

Rocktape is considered to be hypoallergenic as the adhesive is an acrylic adhesive and contains no zinc oxide. Rocktape is also latex free. Because of these two properties, Rocktape is generally considered to be very good for skin of all ages. Very occasionally, some skin sensitivity can occur, but this is much more likely to be “operator error” than a true reaction to the tape itself. We have listed some steps below to ensure that you get the most out of your Rocktape application, and also reduce the risk of any skin issues. 1. Round the corners: this means cutting the corners off your Rocktape before applying. The reason we do this is that the corners are much more likely to catch on clothing, towels, sheets etc and cause the edge of the tape to lift. Once this lifts, the rest of the tape can peel off very quickly. We want your tape to last 3-5 days, so this is important! 2. No tension on the first or last inch of tape: each end of the tape needs at least an inch (2.5cm for those who only know metric!) of UNSTRETCHED “anchor”. This anchor means the tape is going to stay stuck better, but most importantly, it reduces the risk of skin traction injuries that can occur right at the very end of the tape. If you have a very small patch of irritation on the skin where the tape started or finished, this is most likely the cause. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN AREAS WHERE THERE IS A LOT OF SKIN MOVEMENT, LIKE AROUND THE SHOULDER 3. Stretch...

I always get a little pumped to get a play with a new bit of kit and an oppourtunity to teach a new course. Two years of development has culminated in Rocktape’s version of IASTM (instrument assisted soft-tissue mobilization) tool appropriately called RockBlades. A lot of people think of Rocktape as a taping company. We like to think of ourselves as a “Movement company that dabbles in tape.” As with the tape, Rockblades are another tool to help our medical professionals help our patients decrease pain, move better, and ultimately perform better. RockBlades consist of 2 tools. One, attractive surgical-grade stainless steel tool affectionately called the “Mallet” and a smaller thermoplastic tool the “Mullet”. The Mallet is designed for in clinic use and the Mullet is for pitch side or out of clinic use. Both tools have a variety of edges for use with multiple body-parts and techniques. Rockblades come in an attractive case including a tub of RockRub emollient and RockWipes to clean the tools and the bodypart prior to taping. I had the honour of teaching the first RockBlade course in the UK with Rocktape’s Medical Director Paul Coker at the British School of Osteopathy in London. The course was attended by a variety of manual therapists including, physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, sport therapists, and sport massage therapists. There were quite a few familiar faces that have been on previous Rocktape UK’s courses. As with all of our courses we present concepts rather than recipes. We feel once a therapist understands a concept you can apply the concept to a wide range of conditions. We spend a lot...

Do you remember the first time you rode a horse? It was a day I relived for years. I was visiting my mom’s friend, Pam Hubbard, and she let me ride on of her daughter’s horses. I had been practicing for weeks on a horse made of chairs and blankets in my living room. What kind of horses do you ride in your sport? Who is your favorite four-legged riding companion/why? I ride mostly warmblood horses which are bred with the stamina to gallop long distances, the athleticism to jump large fences and the movement to be competitive in dressage. The types of horses I ride typically are the trip-athlete of horses. I have been blessed to ride so many wonderful horses, but at the moment, Castle Larchfield Purdy is my top horse and he is truly a gift to have at the barn. He is an integral part of my dream and has help it become a reality. I am his biggest fan! How/when did your career begin? I have ridden since I was eight years old, and attended my first recognized event when I was 13 years old. I spend many years on at the lower levels and competed in my first international competition at the age of 21. What is “eventing”? Three-day eventing is the triathlon of equestrian. It is comprised of three disciplines of riding which stems from the test that the calvary would take to prepare for battle. The first is dressage where we memorize a test, wear a top hat and tails, and are judged on our the...